‘Songs to learn and sing’. The title of the tour of which had its ninth instalment in Manchester on Monday night, with Echo and the Bunneymen dropping anchor here in the North West for the first time following jaunts across all corners of these craggy isles, and a huge European and US trip to follow. It’s a quaint refrain which almost trivialises the body of work on offer. From 1980 onwards, the group had twenty Top 20 hits and nine Top 20 albums, all imprinting an indelible mark on
British alternative
music over the subsequent 40 years. Decades which have seen many highs and lows. Tragedy, triumph and a constant, at times self inflicted, tightrope in between. Yet throughout, the remaining stalwart duo Ian McCulloch and Will Sergeant have carried the torch admirably. READ MORE: Northern Quarter's Night and Day WILL continue as nightclub after lengthy court battle It’s a frenetic start, with two tracks lifted from their nascent debut Crocodiles. Going Up is an immediate attention grabber. Sergeant’s scratchy guitar acting as a call and response with McCulloch’s ghostly vocal delivery. The rhythm section like a marching band, accentuating every single beat. “Thanks for coming everyone,” states McCulloch, before mumbling through to claim ‘This is the best place on earth really”. A bold statement coming from a knowing and reliable Liverpudlian. (Image: Kitty Handley) All the Jazz follows. It’s energetically strummed, staccato guitars, atypical of the post punk sound of the time. All Gang of Four with McCulloch’s pained vocal echoing around the venue. Flowers is a change of pace which cleverly shines a light on the band’s development over the intervening years. Over lounge-like bass and drums, McCulloch’s delivery is more of a croon, consciously
BREAKING with emotion at all the right moments. Then comes Rescue, one of the band's earliest hits. Sergeant’s trebly guitar intro demands attention. And the song’s jerky, off beat. stop start verse leads to its call to arms chorus. It’s the first time the crowd decides to test their own vocal chords. ‘Won’t you come on down to myyyyy, RESCUE!’ Whilst greatest hits sets seem ten a penny these days, they are, at the very minimum, a chance to reflect on a career retrospective. This is no more apparent when the band launch into Never Stop from 1983’s Porcupine. It’s new wave, disco percussion sounds as fresh as ever. All Talking Heads, ESG and Devo, yet expertly filtered through the sticky dance floor and smoky corners of Liverpool’s infamous, yet eternally influential, nightclub, Eric’s. The likes of LCD Soundsystem, Friendly Fires, Arcade
fire and the like all went on to tread this path and dance this dance. The next song is the shimmering Bring on the Dancing Horses . Released only 2 years later on from Never Stop in 1985 but at a significantly different pace and anthemic atmosphere, it's a sound later channelled by North West luminaries The Verve and Doves. (Image: Kitty Handley) Perhaps the band are knowingly flexing their showcase muscles, confidently demonstrating their many threads of influence. It works. In terms of personnel, McCulloch and Sergeant have become the somewhat reluctant couple, showcasing proudly their box of records. Mac the difficult yet charismatic frontman. Eternally a rake-like silhouette, hanging from the microphone stand and engaging with the crowd from behind those ever present dark glasses. At times coherent, largely not. Yet never straying from his sole purpose of enlightening the thousands with his delivery. Sergeant is the perfect contrast. A purveyor of sound and style. All enviable fringe and thick rimmed spectacles. Solid and stoic in stance, yet flamboyant and effervescent in his delivery. His finger picked Rickenbacker immaculate. A slightly surreal 15 minute ‘interval’ sits mid set. The DJ blares out Blondie and T-Rex whilst the band lift the metaphorical needle and turn over the record to the other side, a collection of songs which focus on some of the band’s bigger hits. Particularly from their masterpiece; the cinematic, orchestral Ocean Rain album. Seven Seas begins with an acoustic strum, a jangly bass line that treads carefully across the canvas, whilst McCullochs’ longing lyrics glide effortlessly across the backdrop. ‘Stab a sorry heart, with your favourite finger’. Nothing Lasts Forever then raises the roof. Dropped in 1997 as a marker of their first reformation. Amid Britpop madness, its Mersey melancholy seemed to chime with a generation, punctuating many subsequent life moments for now forty or fifty something music fans of the time. And that’s apparent here tonight. Its latter jive is merged into Lou Reed’s Walk on the Wild Side and the venue’s dancefloor reacts accordingly. Echo and the Bunnymen at Albert Hall in Manchester (Image: Kitty Handley) There are moments where you feel the band’s more cantankerous side gets in the way of a truly great gig. They have a rapturous crowd in their hands at this point, yet decide to play a new track Unstoppable Force , many of which will never have heard before. It somewhat jars with the tour’s modus operandi and naturally things drop down a level. Bedbugs and Ballyhoo shuffles things back up a notch with its Doors-like swampy groove. The Killing
moon f ollows, as cinematic as it is on record. Latin guitars chiming their way though the songs grandiose, foreboding swagger. Sergeant deservedly lit in a spotlight of his own. The crowd again find their voice… ‘Fate… up against your will’ ‘How do you follow that?’ jibes McCulloch. And immediately The Cutter cements its case as one of the best intros in indie. It’s woozy opening bars leading into jerky 80s indie royalty. Horns ablaze and bells chime. A crescendo to reach all crescendos. McCulloch pushes his vocal chords, awash with decades of experience, and wails into the night. An encore of Lips Like Sugar rumbles into play. Sergeant’s fingers dancing across his bass strings, plucking out a riff that chimes like a church bell calling its village to arms. Befitting of the venue’s vast stained glass backdrop. McCulloch whispers his croaky verse before launching into a soaring chorus, enveloped in smoky reverb. It’s super tight, and drops down knowingly in all of the right places, the crowd interacting perfectly. ‘Songs to Learn and Sing’ the poster says. These are songs that over 40 years have been very much learnt, and tonight have been sung. With gusto, and a very knowing hint of timelessness. Setlist: Going Up All That Jazz Flowers Rescue
Brussels in Haunted All My Colours (Zimbo) Never Stop Bring on the Dancing Horses Interval Show of Strength Over the Wall Seven Seas Nothing Lasts Forever / Walk on the Wild Side Unstoppable Force Bedbugs and Ballyhoo The Killing Moon The Cutter Encore Lips Like Sugar Ocean Rain